Quotes to hang a story on

[ECSNorway]

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an
infusion of wormwood?"

"Chlorine Triflouride, sir, which has been known to react explosively
when exposed to such substances as sand, water, air, cauldrons, and
students dunderheaded enough to attempt to brew it."
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Tennie]

"You know how the satire wiki Encyclopedia Dramatica describes the Chinese-made liquor known as 'baijiu' as having a kick that, quote-unquote, 'can put you on the moon of another planet'? Well, I personally confirmed that it literally can do just that!"

(And if you're wondering, yes, it does say that in its article on alcohol (which I won't link to due to the site's NSFW content). But if you know the site's URL, just type "alcohol" (sans quotation marks) into the search box on the left-hand side of the window, and read on...)

[Bob Schroeck]

"Um, guys? We got a ship on approach identifying itself as the S.S. Roaring Mouse, out of the, um, Duchy of Grand Fenwick. They're asking for landing clearance and are wondering if we have any supplies of wine on board..."
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

"Um, guys? We got a ship on approach identifying itself as the S.S. Roaring Mouse, out of the, um, Duchy of Grand Fenwick. They're asking for landing clearance and are wondering if we have any supplies of wine on board..."

"Wine? Let me check our Sellers."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

<rimshot>
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[KindelR]

"He said it was me or my ship... I'd say I miss him, but I'd be lying."

[Star Ranger4]

I'd say I'd miss him, but my aim's too good.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by Echo's Children

[Threepony]

"Oh no, oh no! I'm sorry folks, but it looks like Captain Fnord was just landed on by a space shuttle just outside the tent. There is literally nothing we can do."

"Does that mean he's not coming on?"

"He's squished, flattened, expanded his horizons while flattening his depth. He's now acquainted with several hundred square feet of lunar soil all at once, singing in the Red Choir Eternal. He is now an ex-captain."

"Oh. We've really got to take better care of our celebrity guests."

"God, we're getting such a reputation."

"Not to worry, I made sure to pack our other guest in a safe for just such an emergenc- nevermind. I forgot to attach an oxygen supply. Well, uh, moving on. What else did we have just in case?"

[Dartz]

So, let me lay it out for you.

When you're attacked out here, it's not even life or death. It's life or a fate worse than death.

And you'll be facing an enemy who's experienced - who's raided settlements like yours maybe a dozen times or more. They'll be armed. They'll be fast, and they'll be expecting the easy win. All you have on your side is your training. The only thing that'll keep you safe is your training.

You might wonder what chance training will give you against experience.

So let me tell you a story.

Sixty years ago, a company of U.N. soldiers, drawn from a country with no history of wars, from an army with no experience of battle, were sent to a small African town to defend it. They were given old equipment, better suited to World War II. They had nothing but training, and a book of best practice on their side. Against them, thousands of local militia, led by experienced French Foreign Legion mercenaries.

Can you guess the result of this battle?

The company defended an untenable position for over six days as the politicians left them out to dry, rather than risk the UN looking bad. They only surrendered when their supplies finally ran out - long after everyone expected them to be slaughtered.

After six days, they didn't loose a single man.

All you have to do is manage six hours.

Good training is better than bad experience.

This is no simulation. No pause or break to save you from being hurt. No filter on the inputs. No reward for being stupid. Those are real weapons you hold. Those simmunition will hurt when they hit. You fuck up, you get hurt. You fuck up, and your friends get hurt.

And you'll hurt tomorrow.

You'll bleed for sure. You'll scream when you get hit.

But you'll learn.

We're bringing you as close to a real War as we can. So when it's your turn to fight back, when you're under siege and everyone you care about depends on you, you'll win.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Tennie]

"I called for 'beam spam', not 'meme spam'!"

[KindelR]

"When you're in the business of charting alien star systems, you get used to the unexpected, paradoxical as it sounds.

Telescopes, really good telescopes, can give you an idea of how many planets a system has, sometimes give you an idea of what kind of planets they are, but they can't warn you about what you'll find on those planets, or what kind of hazards are lurking in the void between. That's what StarWind Expeditionary is for-- to map out new systems, to find the points of interest and dangerous stuff before universities and companies and Fen come waltzing in. You could die. You could make some incredible discovery that will put your name in the history books forever.

Or, you could find a whole lot of nothing. Which so far, was what my team had found."

[Dartz]

I really don't know what I want to do with this fic. It has the feeling of being a lot of chickens coming home to roost or something.... I really don't know where this thing is going

-----

“You could’ve called it a coolant leak. We could’ve just taken the reactor offline, and nobody would’ve bothered or cared. Instead, we’ve just poisoned a dozen people, blown up a reactor core, had a nuclear fire and reported it.” “Or we spent the last three years faking our monitoring logs because someone grenaded the only working server and nobody could find a compatible replacement.”

----

Jet's a Warrior, but there's no real war anymore. Peace has broken out.
Jet's a Troubleshooter, but the sort of trouble requiring her skills is almost gone. Most others have another line of work.
The Knight Sabers don't have much, if anything, to do beyond a few milk-runs. They're obsolete.
Working as an instructor is satisfying, but meagre these days.
She's aware that she's not suited to be a settlement leader, but is trying anyway.
Peace has left her throwing things at the wall in the hope they stick.
But she's still solving problems the battlefield way with rapid, quick, clever expedients to keep things moving in the moment- jump off the cliff, then figure out how to land on the way down - rather than planned out solutions or proper answers, treating bureaucracy as the thing that gets in the way of getting things done. Just look at her first response to the Griffon accident - run and fly to it with no clear plan, then figure out how to stop it when she caught up.
Half the fun in her life is cliff-jumping and figuring out how to land on the way down. It's exciting.

I'm trying to get some sort of gravitas into the story that cant just be handwaved away, but I don't really know how and it's crippling my ability to do it.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Spoilsport]

I really don't know what I want to do with this fic. It has the feeling of being a lot of chickens coming home to roost or something....  I really don't know where this thing is going
*snip*
I'm trying to get some sort of gravitas into the story that cant just be handwaved away, but I don't really know how and it's crippling my ability to do it.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

Ever considered a reverse of what happened to Mackie: Jet wakes up in a flesh and blood body? Reverse everything that she counts as a strength: take away her pazerkunst, her connections, her deep pockets. Leave her barefoot making fists with her toes when the shit hits the fan in a smaller, more person-able way (that she can't just punch, kick, or shoot). Something more Doctor Who. Something opening the door to character growth. Maybe she chooses to walk away and leave it behind to start fresh.

In short, make her vulnerable, and the challenge doesn't have to be cosmic?

[Dartz]

A big part of the problem is that the cosmic threats Jet can handle are going away.... and now there's nothing but the mundane stuff left, - running a settlement (badly), or trying to make a few side-dishes work as main course, where some of the traits that really help dealing with cosmic threats are more of a hinderance than a help.

A lot of Jet's problems are summed up Here. Mixed with a tendency to apply the 'NASA fix' to problems and cutting a lot of corners to try and catch up.

And the big issue, that's not really mentioned - nobody in particular sees her as capable of doing anything but face the cosmic threats. Handy when one rolls around - but in a reputation economy, not the sort of thing you want to be stuck with.

[M Fnord]

(stolen from r/writingprompts)

"Jupiter has 64 moons and a serious werewolf problem."

[Dartz]

Hi, My names Matsukata Moranobu. Until not to long ago, I was an ordinary Tokyo high school student. I had friends, I had a girlfriend. I was in the astronomy club. I used to look up at the stars and wonder... I probably should've looked before crossing the road instead.

*TRUCK HORN*
*THUD*
*GIRLISH SCREAMS*

I awoke as AI in a universe filled with fantastic technolgy. Starships made from cars. Cities on Mars and Venus. Combat Cyborgs, Catgirls and Giant Robots, all made possible by the powers of the mysterious powers of handwavium. And all under threat from the sinister Boskone.

So, I took up the banner of Great Justice to fight for the Fenspace Convention, alongside the crew of the good ship Zenryoku Zenkai.

----

[Tennie]

"...Wow.  Who would've thought that mixing up the terms 'geosynchronous' and 'geosynclinal' would've produced such...messy...results?"

[ECSNorway]

"There is a fine line between genius, and insanity.

We call it the Karman Line."

[KindelR]

"Engine status?"

"Operational, no irregularities."

"Molycyclics?"

"Check."

"Thermodynes?"

"Check."

"Samoflange?"

Ren flinched under the glares of his crew, and ducked to check the readouts nearest to him before they started throwing things at him again.

"Look, are we ready?"

"Yep. I can't find anything wrong, anyways."

T1 let out an agreeable beep, his captain's transgressions against humor temporarily forgotten. His checks, likewise, checked out.

"Ok, then," Ren grinned, and uttered the words he'd waited his entire life to say. "Standby for FTL."

[M Fnord]

"So, Public Affairs had something of a brainwave..."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going."

"It's not that bad, trust me. Anyway, so PAO wants to improve our public image, maybe get our immigration up a little especially now that we're joining the Federation. To that end they've come up with something kind of interesting. Have you heard about what the Japanese military does for recruitment?"

"Sort of? I've heard that they use anime pinups on some of their craft but... oh, no. No. Not happening."

"Relax, I told you it wasn't that bad. They're not thinking about pinups, more like chibi mascot characters. And to that end we've got a preliminary sketch..."


"I... huh. That's... fairly cute. I'm going to have to think about this one."

[Rajvik]

(stolen from r/writingprompts)

"Jupiter has 64 moons and a serious werewolf problem."

I resemble that remark

[Dartz]

Some dialogue from something I've been trying to say for a while - but I amn't quite sure how. It was something I'd tried to have Ford say to Shinji a long time ago - about how in Fenspace it helps if people believe you're able to do things. It might even have been a comment on influencers before influencers became a thing - and then the HDD it was on headcrashed.

This is just one side of the conversation.

-----
“This is probably the biggest engineering project in space. The amount of work needed to do it is - immense - and it all has to be done right, on time, on schedule and be near perfect.” “The people who’ve to do it have spent the last year being bitched at by grandstanding BNF’s on Venus whenever something didn’t go right. And that was before the reactor blew.”

“Well, that went public, and exactly what we were afraid of happened.” “The whole universe took the chance to gloat about the idiots who blew up a reactor, rather than cheer the heroes who stopped an accident from becoming a disaster.”

“Handwavium gives you what you expect - and if you’re dealing with a group of people who’ve started to expect failure - when even the rest of the universe doesn’t believe you can do it - what’s that going to get?”

“All that negativity is going to poison any attempts to create any handwaved solution.” “You handwave something expecting it to fail, and what’re you going to get?”

“We can make this work. Because it’s reality - it doesn’t care about how you feel, or how popular you are, or what you believe - if it’s done right, it’ll work.”

[Dartz]

"Fenspace doesn't run on truth. Fenspace runs on stories. Some people want stories about heroes, and not victims. Some people want victims, and not heroes.

But when things go wrong, the only story that matters to anyone is who's to blame. Because good stories also need bad villains."


--Maybe I'm getting too cynical these days.

[Tennie]

"You know you've developed a certain kind of reputation when you call someone up and they answer with a resigned 'What did you do this time?'"

[Rajvik]

no dartz, thats about accurate. they either want a good villain, or they want to hear how their idols have fallen